Street Signs

Faded black Sharpie cat sketches on a concrete wall
in an alleyway adjacent to a chain coffee shop.
EVOLVE stickers and
illegible graffiti initials –
like obsolete Superman signs written in cursive –
resting on poles of red, yellow, and green parallel to passersby.

Do you ever wonder how they got there? How long they’ll stay?
Do we notice them at all?
Markers adorn the artificial city surfaces –
Some deteriorate
without salute or farewell;
Some deconstruct – deconstruct what?
Surely, Time will tell;
Some spectators despise such transformations:
Stop, slow, don’t go

And one day, a NO PARKING sign will be tacked
to the alleyway wall, a casket cover
for the black Sharpie cats’ remains.
And one day, the EVOLVE stickers will be replaced
by COEXIST ones.
And one day, an activist will plaster a “Save the Whales” poster
over the spray paint masterpieces.
And one day, the exchange of traffic will continue
‘til the lights themselves are out of commission.